The disclosure herein relates generally to techniques and equipment that may be used in conjunction with supplemental lighting systems for modern digital cameras and film cameras.
Many electronic/digital cameras do not have flash systems included therein. This has led to the development of various forms of external, supplemental lighting systems to aid in the capture of images. Unfortunately, unlike older film-based SLR cameras (which often included an electrical connector known as a “hot shoe”), most modern cameras do not include an electrical interface for an external lighting system to work in concert with the camera. Without such an electrical interface to the camera, external lighting systems for modern cameras face various challenges. Most importantly, there is no way to synchronize the flash of light with the camera exposure, without finding a way to integrate with the camera control software in the camera. Of course, access to this software is often blocked by camera vendors for proprietary reasons.
Modern work-arounds for these challenges focus on the user turning on a video lamp, then using the camera, and then turning off the video lamp. The extended duration needed for this, with high intensity lamps such as high intensity LEDs, results in excessive consumption of battery power and additional thermal management challenges. The complexity of user needing to perform two separate operations on two different devices also reduces the user experience.
In addition, many modern cameras do not provide a mechanical interface to provide for a simple connection to various types of mounts (e.g., tripods). Further, many modern cameras are not packaged in a manner to allow them to be used in various environments (e.g., in rain, near bodies of water, underwater, in wind-blown sandy areas, and so forth). There is at least one manufacturer (GoPro, Inc.) that provides a waterproof case for its cameras, but the case comes with a mount permanently affixed to the bottom surface thereof which prevents the case from resting normally on a horizontal surface.
Also, different environments may provide different challenges and issues for illumination light (e.g., water absorbs light differently depending on its wavelength (color) so the illumination spectrum typically used in air is not suitable underwater). Lastly, various situations a camera user may encounter may cause them to want to signal others such as rescuers, friends, and others.
What is needed, therefore, is a design for a lighting system for a modern camera that is better able to meet such challenges.